Putin praises US-Russia talks as ‘first step’ to restoring ties

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he rated talks between the United States and Russia in Saudi Arabia “highly,” describing them as a “first step” to restoring relations with Washington.

Officials from the two nuclear powers met in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, their first high-level meeting in more than three years.

“I was briefed (on the talks). I rate them highly, there is a result,” Putin said at a drone factory in Saint Petersburg.

“In my opinion, we made the first step to restore work in various areas of mutual interests.”

Putin added that US President Donald Trump was starting to receive “objective information,” without elaborating, but cautioned the two sides needed to build trust to resolve the conflict.

“It is impossible to solve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States,” the Russian leader added.

Since coming to office last month, Trump has effectively ended the previous US administration’s policy of isolating Russia, handing a diplomatic coup to Putin.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Trump echoed many of Russia’s talking points on the three-year conflict in Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for having “started” the fighting and suggesting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was hugely unpopular.